Final Report Summary - INDAM-COFUND (INdAM FELLOWSHIPS IN MATHEMATICS AND/OR APPLICATIONS FOR EXPERIENCED RESEARCHERS COFUNDED BY MARIE CURIE ACTIONS) 1 OverviewThe INdAM-COFUND programme opens the existing INdAM national programme to transnational mobility, increasing transnational mobility of researchers and improving their working and employment conditions, in particular the amount of their salaries. The programme is composed by three calls. The awarded fellowships are of three types: - Outgoing fellowships (with return phase), intended for Italian nationals or "assimilated": 5-4 per Call - Incoming fellowships, intended for Italy non-nationals from a EU Member State (MS) different from Italy, an Associated Country (AC) or a Third Country: 3-4 per Call - Reintegration fellowships, intended for Italian nationals who have carried out research in a Third Country for at least 3 years in the last 4 years prior to the deadline: 1 per Call As to the choice of the research programs, the expression "Mathematics and/or its applications" has a very broad meaning. It includes all the fields of Mathematics, applications of Mathematics to the natural and social sciences, e.g. Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Finance and Economics, to Computer Science, to Engineering, to industry and technology and so on. The fellow is completely free in choosing the research institution (either public or private or when applicable a combination of both), and the supervisors and/or collaborators most suitable to conduct successfully his/her project, provided that the host institution is not located in Italy for the first phase of Outgoing fellowships, and located in Italy for Incoming and Reintegration fellowships and for the return phase of Outgoing fellowships. The INdAM-COFUND programme fully implements the current INdAM policy for fellowships, based on supporting researchers, selected only on the basis of scientific quality, so that they can choose their host institutions, their supervisors and their programs (rather than supporting institutions or senior researchers so that they can choose their fellows). The duration of the Programme is 60 months. The total number of fellowships is 27. The total number of fellow-years is 54. The deadlines for the three calls were respectively 15 April 2011, 20 December 2011, 15 May 2012. Across the three calls, a total of 10 Incoming, 15 Outgoing and 2 Reintegration fellowships have been awarded. Outgoing fellowships consist of an Outgoing phase of 18 months and a Return phase of 6 months. Incoming and Reintegration fellowships last 24 months. 2 Eligibility criteria for applicantsOn the date of the relevant deadline for submission of proposals, applicants to the INdAM-COFUND fellowship programme must be experienced researchers, that is, they must either: (i) be in possession of a doctoral degree, independently of the time taken to acquire it, or (ii) have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience. 3 Selection process for the fellowsThe calls for the fellowships of the programme have been announced on the INdAM website, as well as on "Gazzetta Ufficiale" as required by the law. The selection committee in charge of the final decision is a Panel appointed by INdAM. For each Call a different Panel has been appointed; each Panel included at least one international expert, as well as one expert from a private organisation. Proposals have been evaluated by the Panel with the assistance of independent experts (referees). The Panel has allocated each proposal to two or more independent referees, taking account of their fields of expertise, and avoiding conflicts of interest. Referees have been chosen internationally: for each Call, the majority of referees were affiliated to foreign organisations. Each proposal has been assessed independently by each referee. The proposal has been evaluated against pre-determined evaluation criteria. Referees have performed evaluations on a personal basis, not as representatives of their employer, their country or any other entity. They have been requested to be independent, impartial and objective, and to behave throughout in a professional manner, through a confidentiality and conflict of interest declaration which has been accepted before beginning their work. Confidentiality rules have been adhered to at all times, before, during and after the evaluation. 4 Appointment conditionsSelected fellows are recruited under a status equivalent to a fixed amount fellowship, with social security coverage and social benefits. The contract consists of: - an amount to be paid directly to the fellow (the sum of the living allowance and the mobility allowance); - a travel allowance, to be paid to the fellow as reimbursement of travel tickets; - insurance costs to be paid by INdAM in favour of the fellow, to provide coverage for work accidents, occupational diseases and invalidity benefits; - a research cost contribution (RCC1) to be paid by INdAM to the host Institution(s) either by a direct transfer, or as a payment of invoices, in the interest of the fellow; - a research cost contribution (RCC2) to be paid by INdAM directly to the fellow as reimbursement of expenses for the direct purchase of any material (excluding hardware) or consumable goods needed for his/her research, and of travel and living expenses for participation to scientific events. The attached table provides an overview on the financial aspects and other quantitative data about the fellows.5 Website and contact detailsBeneficiary: Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica "Francesco Severi" (INdAM)Postal address: Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 – 00185 Roma – ItaliaTelephone: +39 06490320 - 064440665Fax: +39 064462293INdAM website: http://www.altamatematica.it/Programme website: http://cofund.altamatematica.it/2008/
